Gendou Ikari, formerly Gendo Rokubungi, is the Commander of NERV and is responsible for research and development of Project E and the Human Instrumentality Project. He is the father of Shinji Ikari, the Third Child and pilot of Evangelion Unit-01. He is also the guardian of Rei Ayanami, the First Child and pilot of Evangelion Unit-00 and the only person Rei reliably interacts with at the start of the series.